Matthews: Can Obama Lead Cheney, Rove and Neo-Cons 'Out of the Valley of Evil?'

Chris Matthews, on Thursday's Hardball, cast Barack Obama in the
role of savior of the neo-cons as he pondered if the President's Nobel
Peace Prize speech could, "Lead those neo-cons...out of the valley of
evil?" Matthews wondered if Obama could rescue Dick Cheney, Karl Rove,
Michael Gerson and other neo-cons from their "belief in torture and
Gitmo." Cynthia Tucker, of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joined
Matthews in declaring "This speech won't make Dick Cheney happy."

The following exchange was aired on the December 10, edition of Hardball:

(Begin clip of speech)

BARACK OBAMA: I believe the United States of America
must remain a standard-bearer in the conduct of war. That is what makes
us different from those who we fight. That is a source of our strength.
That is why I prohibited torture. That is why I ordered the prison at
Guantanamo Bay closed and that is why I have reaffirmed America's
commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions. We lose ourselves when
we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend.

(End clip)

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Chuck do you think the President gets
enough moral authority with the rest of this speech to lead those
neo-cons and Cheney types, Karl Rove and the rest of them, Michael
Gerson, out of the valley of evil here? Can he take, can he, can he
save them from their, at least short term, belief in torture and Gitmo
and the rest of this?

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: Well certainly as far as the
relationship to the world is, if, if that's the, if that's where you're
asking that question from, judging by that applause line. You know, not
many parts of his speech invoked applause. And sometimes on foreign
soil when a president, when the President is giving speeches people
will not, not a lot of applause, sometimes that will be translation
issues. That wasn't a translation issue. I think that was because of
the soberness of the speech and the topic. But that is the part, and
Chris it goes to your earlier point. That's the part where he separated
himself from his foreign policy doctrine with President's Bush's
foreign policy doctrine.

CYNTHIA TUCKER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: And that's
what American Exceptionalism is all about in my view Chris. We are the
people who have the good values, even when it is tough to do so. We
don't torture. Yes we will try-

MATTHEWS: Cheney does!

TUCKER: Well-

MATTHEWS: The neo-cons believe in it!

TUCKER: Well that is not...

MATTHEWS: They come on this show every night. We had Ron
Christie here, sitting in that chair last night, defending it down the
line.

TUCKER: And that is why this speech still won't make Dick
Cheney happy. But I think many Americans ought to be very proud of the
speech that President Obama gave this morning.

-Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.

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